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Ometepe

Ometepe Two volcanoes in the middle of a huge lake, and an adventure I'll never forget. I almost stayed home, but Ellen insisted we go. - (125) more edit 2009-01-19 - rec# 116

Ometepe is a large island in the Southwestern part of Lake Nicaragua. It's basically two volcanoes that have erupted up from the lake and have come together to create this marvelous place. I had heard from several people that it was a very special place and that I should go there sometime. Ellen wanted to go and wanted me to go along with her. This would be my last opportunity to take any trips before school starts. So off I went. It's normally about a 5 or 6 hour trip into Nicaragua. On this Journey we also spent three hours on the border. More than usual. For some reason when we arrived this time everything was at a dead stop. No traffic was passing through at all. We walked from the traffic jam to the immigration office, did our paperwork and caught up with the bus when it cleared the traffic. As usual our passports were gathered up at the Nicaraguan border by the bus company and we were processed in mass. There's a lot of sitting around then. After clearing all the paperwork requirements we proceeded on up into Nicaragua. We got off the bus at Rivas and wandered around the town a little, got some Cordobas, got some water, took some photos. The locals were telling us that we'd need to take a taxi to the ferry terminal and that we shouldn't pay more than 50 Cordobas each for the trip. This is Latin America...there are buses going EVERYWHERE! Everyone we asked said no bus, take taxi, and had a different figure for the trip. We knew that San Jorge was down this particular road so we waited for a bus. It took us some 10 of waiting for the bus to show up. Now I love the buses in Costa Rica. The buses in Costa Rica are really neat. But this...bus. What a gas. It was more of an old van with lots of decorations. We sat up front with the driver and chatted with him. The bus cost 5 Cordobas and was a much more fun ride than any taxi would have been. We were dropped off at the dock shortly before there was a launch to leave. There was a storm beginning to whip up as we loaded the ship. Ometepe being an island everything gets there via boat, tourists, pineapples, pipe, bear, car parts, locals. And it was all loaded into this boat, and all in the same space. It's about a 2 hour trip to the island, and the further we got out the rougher the seas got. We took a couple of swells over the bow and washed the cabin area. There was this man on board who had brought his puppy. I don't think the puppy had had much experience on boats. He was really scared and kept trying to hide. I was wondering how many people on that trip would be "feeding the fish" during this trip. But, it was only the dog who got sick. We landed at Moyogalpa and stayed for the night. Ometepe Island is formed by the conjunction of the Volcan Comception and Valcaan Maderas. Valcan Conception rises 1610m and being the largest comprises the largest part of the island. There are roads there that are even paved! Many people come the Ometepe to climb the volcanoes. Not my cup of tea, and I was having troubles with my feet, so we'll leave this adventure to others. In the morning we headed out (via bus) to Charco Verde. There was now place to stay there, but Chico Gordo was just a short walk down the beach and there was space there. This part of the island is full of legends. I don't know how well I understood the explanation, but I think it went something like this: At noon every Good Friday a woman with a golden comb appears in the middle of the lagoon at Charco Verde. She and Chico Largo, a troll like figure, live in an enchanted place near the lagoon. People on the island believe that they can make a compact with Chico Largo for riches and happiness all their life. When they die demons drag them to a lost city in Charco Verde and convert them into an animal. There are stories around the island about cattle being slaughtered and gold teeth being found in their mouths, of animals at the slaughter saying, "Pedro, don't you remember me?". Or so I think. Being in Charco Verde is like going back in time. Spotted all along the shore are these tables with large flat rocks placed on them. They seem to be some sort of communal washing station. During the day you will see families down at the water. Washing their clothes at these tables, washing their bodies, playing, swimming...all in the same water and all at the same time as the cattle are drinking. A glimpse of the Garden of Eden. Charco Verde is at the foot of the volcano. But then everyplace is... There are several nice walking trails around the lagoon where can be found turtles, egrets, herons, Howler Monkeys and Blue Magpie Jays. Very blue, very much like the magpies I know from Utah (where they are all BLACK and white) and with a large top knot, or bob sticking up from the tops of their heads. Being magpies I was never able to get a very good shot of them. They were mostly flying away from me and a ways off. I believe these were the first I have seen down here. Our next stop was to be on the other part of the island. We walked out the the road to wait for a bus. Everybody on the island is friendly and will come up to talk to you. At one point there was this boy, Chritian, who wanted to talk to us. He told us about school and asked if we had paper that he could have for school. There were a couple of other women there who had a pen and notebook they gave him. He was very proud and wanted a picture taken of him when he realized that we had cameras. Then these girls came by with buckets of bananas to sell. There were gringos sitting there and they wanted to meet us. Not as much, I think, to sell bananas as to talk and play. They asked where we were from and just wanted to spend some time with us. The conversation became play and they were swinging from some roots hanging from a nearby tree (yes, roots hanging from tree). After about a half an hour of playing and talking, taking photos and showing photos we were asked if we wanted any of their sweet bananas. They sold them by the bucket. I said I only wanted one or two. They said they were very good. I said I only wanted one or two they said it was 10 Cordobas for the bucket. I said that I only wanted one or two and we finally settle on one Cordoba each for the bananas. Everyone left happy. After our "transaction" they headed down the street for their next adventure, swinging their buckets and singing. So far the people we've met are the happiest and healthiest I've ever met, anyplace. Our bus finally came. We were headed for El Quino, which is the intersection that will take us to the smaller volcano. The bus took us to Altagracia...such is life in the fast lane. Ometepe is a location full of archaeological history, carvings, petroglyphs, myths. The church had some ancient stone carvings in it's yard. I took some photos and entered the church with my camera. There I was informed that there was a $1 charge for visitors with cameras, which I gladly paid. Altagracia was a city to explore, a place to take photos, another bus stop and then off to Merida. Once you leave El Quinto you leave pavement behind. Going is slow. We are aproaching Volcan Maderas, set you watches back another 100 years. We got rooms at Hacienda Merida and set off for the "city". All we found were small houses, pigs and dogs. Everybody was friendly and wanted to talk. At one point we asked where the city was. The woman looked confused. When we changed the word from "ciudad" to "pueblo" she just laughed and pointed around. "What were you expecting?" she asked. I have never been in a human community before that I felt was so "natural", so "innocent", so "simple". These people live life, a simplicity I can see and appreciate, not one I can achieve. Hacienda Merida is an interesting place. More of a community house than anything else. Once one of the vacation houses of the dictator Somoza it is a place for eople of the community to study English for free, they plan to open a k-12 school, sponsor doctors to come in to help, offer rooms and meals. They are also looking for volunteers to teach English... We were looking for a place to eat and came across "Margarita's Bar", so we walked in and asked to see a menu. The cook (Margarita?) looked at us like we were crazy and said, "Chicken, Fish". Nuf' said. The evening we returned and ordered the chicken which was incredible. We sat there watching the world (and the pigs) go by eating this fantastic meal. Before leaving we asked about breakfast...when did she open? She simply asked when we would like to eat and I said around 7am. She said she'd be there. So, the next day at 7am we arrived and were presented with breakfast. No menu, no questions, great breakfast. She was so delighted that we liked her cooking! At one point we were walking down the road where we came across a man, his son and a couple of others with a horse. The horse was being really wiled and would not let the boy on it's back. Every time they tried he'd kick the boy off, but the man just kept trying, and it was important tot he boy to get on too. They tried all sorts of ways to get him up on the horse. At one point they reached success, and we were there to see the event. They were both so proud! As usual...well as ALWAYS we were told "Photo! Photo!". They were delighted to be able to see themselves after we took the shots. The man was very proud of his son, and everybody there shared in the joy of the moment. Nobody feared that the boy would be hurt, it was something he was going to do..and he did. After we took the shot the horse took off up the mountain with the boy on it's back. Our last stop before leaving the island was Ojo de Agua. This is a "natural" spring that has been built up. One pays $2 to get in and then can swim in the pools or sit around in the picnic areas. A very popular spot with the locals as I understand. When we were there there were about 20 national police from Managua there enjoying the water. They were competing to see who could swim the longest distance under water. Ellen, never being the shy one, jumped into the middle of the competition and swam almost the entire length of the pool outdoing even the best of the men. As it became more and more clear that she would surpass them all they began to cheer and clap. By the time she came back to the surface she had a standing (well, they were standing in the first place, but you get the idea) ovation. After her show there were just a couple of men who continued trying to do the under water thing. The enthusiasm of the competition was destroyed. We spent about an hour there and then headed back toward the highway to find a bus. We had been on the road for just a few minutes before a pickup truck full of uniformed police came by. Recognizing Ellen we were offered a ride, so we climbed in the back of the truck with our back packs. Sitting among Nicaraguan Police and their weapons we moved up toward the paved highway. They asked which way were going. They were headed toward Altagracia and we toward Moyogalpa so they left us at the highway where we met this group from Mexico. They were trying to flag down a ride but without success. Soon a bus arrived and we were off for Moyogalpa. In order to get back in time for school it was about time for me to end my adventure. We made it back to Rivas and checked with the bus company. All tickets sold out. Can't leave on Sunday, next available would be 2pm on Monday, but perhaps I could go back using local buses. I found the bus and decided to do that. That night I got really, really sick. Bad food I suspect. By morning time I was feeling mobile, but during the night I was wondering if I'd be able to make ANY journey. So at 7am, with no food at all in my stomach, not sure of the route or what to expect I took off. The trip to the boarder was easy. I was dropped off however in an area that I didn't recognize at all. I had no idea where I was or where the border crossing was. Everything around me looked like some gypsy camp from 75 years back. Crowds of people, everybody cooking stuff and selling stuff, the smell of food and urine mixed in the air, all confusion and no clear direction of where to go. However there WAS this small doorway in the wall where people had the passports out and were pressing towards. Looked good to me. It, in fact, WAS the way through the wall dividing penas blancas from immigration. Passing through the wall was like moving into a different century. It was easy to find and go through Nicaraguan immigration. Then I walked to Costa Rican immigration, where I stood in line for 5 hours! Buses from there to San Jose are easy to find and by 10pm I was home and in my bed. For the first time in a week I not only had water in the shower (had been quite a while for that), but I had HOT water in the shower.